[ Short Description ]
[ Schedule ]
[ Grades ]
[ Score Sheets ]
[ Email Lists ]
[ For some information about this course, including CAPE comments, exam length, and academic integrity, click here ]

TAs	Sections	Office Hours	Office
Lisa Damm   ldamm@ucsd.edu	A01 W12-12:50 York 4080A A05 M3-3:50 Peter 103	M2-3; Tu1-2	HSS8073
Andy Beck   aebeck@ucsd.edu	A06 W6-6:50 CSB 004 A02 F12-12:50 York 4080A	F10-12	HSS8037
Liberty Jaswal   ljaswal@ucsd.edu	A04 F1-1:50 WLH 2113 A03 F3-3:50 CSB 004	TBA	HSS8029

Short Description:

Content.

This course consists of two parts. In the first part (about 2/3 of the course) we will cover the basics of formal sentential logic, including transaltions into formal notation, truth tables, and proofs. In the second part (about 1/3 of the course), we will study informal reasoning, focusing on ways that it can commonly go wrong. Note that students in this class are expected to complete their own work, both problem sets and exams should represent the student's own work, and not be copied from other students or any other source. Violation of this is plagiarism and constitutes a violation of class and University policy.

Structure.

There are two lectures per week, and one discussion section. Grades are based on exams given in class, and problem sets assigned and collected in sections.

Text and other materials.

The text for the course is Basic Sentential Logic and Informal Fallacies (BSLIF), which is available at UCSD bookstore. This text is brief, containing the minimal basics. It is possible that some students might like more extended discussion of some topics, or more examples. To this end, copies of Patrick Hurley's A Concise Introduction to Logic, as well as the study giude and instructor's manula for Hurley's text, are on reserve in HSS.

In addition to these text, there is a logic website for this course, that has additional exercises with solutions, practice exams with solutions, and other things that might be useful. I highly recommend that you take advantage of the practice exams before you take the real exam.

Schedule:

Each session number is followed by the date of the lecture, and then the sections of the text that correspond to the lectures. Problem set due dates are also indicated. They can be turned in to your TA during office hours, during discussion section, or any other agreed-upon time, so long as they are in before the due date specified.

Session 01 (09.27.04): BSLIF 1.1

Session 02 (09.29.04): BSLIF 1.1, 1.2.

Problem Set One due 10.01.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 03 (10.04.04): BSLIF 2.1. PS02.

Session 04 (10.06.04): BSLIF 2.2, 2.3.

Problem Set Two due 10.08.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 05 (10.11.04): BSLIF 2.4. PS03.

Session 06 (10.13.04): BSLIF 2.5.

Problem Set Three due 10.15.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 07 (10.18.04): Midterm One

Session 08 (10.20.04): BSLIF 3.1. PS04.

Problem Set Four due 10.22.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 09 (10.25.04): BSLIF 3.2.

Session 10 (10.27.04): BSLIF 3.3. PS05.

Problem Set Five due 10.29.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 11 (11.01.04): BSLIF 3.4. PS06.

Session 12 (11.03.04): BSLIF 3.5.

Problem Set Six due 11.05.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 13 (11.08.04): Midterm Two

Session 14 (11.10.04): BSLIF 4.1 - 4.4

Session 15 (11.15.04): BSLIF 4.5 - 5.2.

Session 16 (11.17.04): BSLIF 5.3 - 5.6. PS07.

Problem Set Seven due 11.19.04, 1:50 pm.

Session 17 (11.22.04): BSLIF 5.7 - 6.2.

Session 18 (11.24.04): Thanksgiving Holiday

Session 19 (11.29.04): BSLIF 6.3 - 6.4. PS08.

Session 20 (12.01.04): ???

Problem Set Eight due 12.01.04, 1:50 pm.

Final Exam: Thursday December 9, 3-6pm. Room TBA, probably Solis 107.

Grades:

There are 1000 points possible for the course. This is broken down as follows: 200 for each of two midterms exams, for a total of 400. The final is worth 500 points. And the section grade, based on homework, is worth 100 points.

The final exam's 500 points are broken down as follows. 125 will correspond to material from Midterm One. 125 will correspond to material from Midterm 2. The reamining 250 points will cover material covered in the last third of the course: everything after Midterm Two.

Letter grades will not be assigned until after all points are in. The worst-case scenario is that it will be a straight 10% breadkdown: 90%-100% will be A-, A or A+; 80%-89.9% will be B-, B or B+; and so forth. So if you need to get a C-, for example, you should plan on getting at least 700 points out of the 1000 possible. Depending on the class average, the grade cut-offs may be curved downward a bit -- for example one quarter the A- cut-off was 880 points rather than 900. But you should not count on any such curving down. The grade cut-offs will not be curved up, however, meaning that the straight 10% breakddown is the highest that the grade cut-offs will be set.

Special pleading at the end of the course will have no effect. Every quarter a certain number of students who apparently need to pass the class in order to graduate miss the C- cut-off, or the D cut-off. Some of these students are then unable to graduate. If this is your situation then you need to make sure you pass the class. We have office hours and are happy to help if you are having trouble with the material, practice exams are available for you to assess your own level of preparation. I and the TAs are happy to spend time with anyone who needs it to help them get a handle on the material so they can do well on the exams. But it is your responsibility to attend lecture, attend sections, study the material, do homework, and take practice exams, and and come to office hours if you need help. We will NOT adjust grades after they have been assigned, except in cases where an actual error of some sort has been made. See the section below on how to do well in this course for more advice on how to insure that you pass the class. It is no fun being unable to graduate because you missed a C- by 4 points out of 1000, and I don't like having to be the one who fills out the D or F on the grade sheet. So do us both a favor and be certain that you learn the material well enough to pass the class. I apologize for the negative tone of this paragraph, but I take it that the vast majority of the students in this class who work hard and study the material do so on the assumption that the grade they earn on that basis means something. They are depending on me to not do things like give some other student who doesn't understand the material as well the same grade just because this other student did some lobbying after the quarter was over. Every student's grade is determined by the points they receive, including those who miss a grade cut-off by 1 point out of 1000. I am spending so much time on this topic because, as I said, I don't like being the one who fills out the F or D on the grade sheet for a student who was planning to graduate, has a job lined up, etc. So please, study, attend lecture, do the practice exams, go to section and ask question if there is stuff you don't understand. See me or the TAs is you need help. Don't take a risk by not studying, skipping lectures or homework, and try to estimate how much you can slack off and 'probably' still pass.

No make-up exams will be given. If you miss a midterm exam for a legitimate reason, such as serious medical injury or illness, then the points will be made up in the following way: The final exam has sections that correspond to material from Midterm One and Midterm Two -- each worth 125 points. If a student misses a midterm exam for a legitimate reason, then the points that the student earns on that section of the final that corresponds to the missed exam will be multiplied by 1.6, and that number used for the student's exam score (because 125 x 1.6 = 200). Legitimate reasons include serious illness with a doctor's note. Personal travel plans that conflict with the schedule, forgetting about the exam, etc., are not legitimate excuses.

In order to help accomodate students with scheduling issues, an early version of the final will be given, usually 4 - 7 days before the normally scheduled exam, depending on the final exam schedule. Exact place and time willl be annonced in class and on the email lists.

Score Sheets

Links to score sheets for each section are below. These will be updated after each exam. Scores are listed by a coded version of your student ID number in order to protect privacy, as per University regulations. In order to determine what your coded ID number is, do the following. Take your student ID number. This will be something like a letter followed by 8 digits, like "A01234567". Remove the letter and the first digit, and you're left with a string of 7 digits, like "1234567". Take the first four digits, and treat this as a 4 digit number (something between 0000 and 9999); and take the last four digits and treat this like another 4-digit number. In the example above, they would be "1234" and "4567". Add these two numbers together, for example: 1234 + 4567 = 5801. If the number you get is 5 digits, remove the first digit to make it 4 digits long; if it is 4, then keep it at 4 digits. This is your coded ID number. To see another example: If your student ID is "A05367921", you drop the first letter and number: "5367921"; then take the first 4 digits: "5367"; and the last 4 digits "7921"; add them together: 5367+7921=13288. If the result is 5 digits, remove the first digit: "3288". If you cannot find your row on the score sheet, first check other score sheets, especially if you changed sections at some point in the quarter. If you still have trouble, email me with your name, section, and ID number.

Section a01
Section a02
Section a03
Section a04
Section a05
Section a06

Email List:

NOTE: These email lists will not be active until September 2004. If you subscribe earlier than September, you will need to subscribe again.

Email List: There are email distribution lists for this course, one for each section. It is required that you subscribe to the list for your discussions section. Do it IMMEDIATELY. You can always unsubscribe later if you drop the course or change sections. The purpose of the list is to allow me and the TAs to distribute information regarding due dates for assignments, changes of schedule, etc. Some of this information is crucial, and some of it will be distributed early on. To subscribe, you simply need to send a message to the following address (the message must be sent from the account that you want to be subscribed):

If you are in section a01, send a message to
logic-a01-sub@mind.ucsd.edu 

If you are in section a02, send a message to
logic-a02-sub@mind.ucsd.edu 

If you are in section a03, send a message to
logic-a03-sub@mind.ucsd.edu

If you are in section a04, send a message to
logic-a04-sub@mind.ucsd.edu 

If you are in section a05, send a message to
logic-a05-sub@mind.ucsd.edu 

If you are in section a06, send a message to
logic-a06-sub@mind.ucsd.edu

The subject line and any content in the message are ignored. You only need to send the message to the appropriate address from the account that you want to be subscribed.

How to do well in this course:

Attend the lectures, and read the corresponding chapters of the text before the lecture. Attend the discussion sections, and do all homework assigned by the TA. Use the homework, and other non-assigned exercises (in the text or on the website) to determine for yourself how well you have mastered the material. If you need additional help, ask your TA or myself. We have office hours. The earilier you get clear on some issue that is giving you trouble, the better it will be for everybody. You can also make use of the texts on reserve at HSS, which have more examples and more discussion.

For each exam, 2 practice exams are available in the text. I recommend that before the actual exam, you administer one of the exams to yourself, giving yourself only 45 minutes. Then grade your exam (answers will be emailed out on the email lists). This will allow you to find what material, if any, you need to work on some more. Consult myself or the TA, or simply do more excercises of the type you need to improve on until you feel you have mastered this material. Repeat the proceedure with the second practice exam.

This will be a very manageable class IF you simply keep up with the material, regularly practice by doing exercises, and ask for help as soon as you need it.

Many students end up getting grades much worse than they expect because they do not follow the above advice. The material looks easy when you read through it or watch someone else work a proof or truth table, and many students then think "That looks easy, I'll be able to do that on a test." But as some students learn the hard way, watching someone do it is a lot easier than doing it yourself. Furthermore, the exams are long. Purposefully long. Most students do not finish them. The only way to get to the point where you can do the problems quickly and accurately is to do a lot of practice. [Amazingly, I give people this advice every time I teach this class, and every time a large chunk of students still fall into exactly these traps.]